Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31292193-20170322215318/@comment-31398341-20170427050528

Alec5505 wrote: Salmance with Life Orb

Intmedate ablity

252 speed EV's 252 attack EV's 4 special EV's

moves 1. Dragon Claw, 2. Flamethrower 3. Earthquake 4. Roost

How did I do? Non-Mega Dragon Dance

1. Salamence @ Life Orb

Ability : Intimidate

Naive / Hasty Nature

252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Speed

- Dragon Dance

- Flamethrower

- Dragon Claw / Outrage

- Earthquake

Dragon Dance is used to make Salamence a rather potent sweeper by boosting speed and physical attack. While Flamethrower may seems irrelevant to D-Dance, it provides good utility in hitting some steel types such as Scizor and Forretress. Dragon Claw and Outrage are most reliable STAB attacks. Earthquake is to hit Rock, Steel and Electric types. It is a good coverage overall as it can hit Empoleon, Aegislash, Excadrill and Metagross. EV spread is to make Salamence as fast and hit hard as possible. Naive or Hasty nature is used in order to avoid gimping the moves power.

Mega + Dragon Dance sweeper

2, Salamence @ Salamencite

Ability : Intimidate (Aerilate when Mega)

Jolly / Adamant Nature

252 Atk / 4 SpDef / 252 Speed OR 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Speed

- Dragon Dance

- Return / Double-Edge

- Earthquake

- Roost

Same as above, Dragon dance boosts the power of physical moves and Salamence's speed. Return is usually preferred due to no recoil damage, which makes it capable of sweep better. However, Double-Edge deals far more damage at the cost of recoil. It is important to note that Aerilate makes Return and Double-Edge far more powerful. Earthquake is to hit most steel types that resist Return. Roost is to provide longevity, especially when considering it is a sweeper. Also note that Dragon Claw and Outrage does not hit anything noticeably harder and usually wastes important moveslot. Two EV spreads can be used. 252 Speed with Jolly nature can be used to outspeed most of the meta pokemon before using Dragon Dance, although 176 Speed with Adamant nature can still outspeed 99% of unboosted pokemon in the meta while also providing spare EVs to give it more bulk and hit harder.